Aftermath
by Lialane Graest
Summary: Spoilers 112! After the events of 112 the dead are tallied, the missing are being searched for, and a new Shinigami is trying to maintain order in the face of overwhelming odds.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: MASSIVE spoiler for 112. You've been warned.**

* * *

Stein hit his knees, his eyes wide. The madness crashed over him, drowning out the voices that were echoing around him, erasing his senses so that he could not feel the hands that were dragging him to his feet.

His eyes were locked on the moon, the moon that was black as night, covered in a substance as thick as blood. It obscured his sight from what was happening, but it didn't matter. He knew what had just happened, and a hoarse laugh escaped him.

They had died. The kishin was defeated, but Senpai, Sid, Nygus had died. They had to be dead, their wavelengths were gone. He had thrown Marie to the moon, but he refused to acknowledge that. Surely one of the sets of hands that he was now dimly aware of was hers. His hand reached towards the moon as he collapsed against the hands that were holding him up, hysterical laughter bursting from him.

He only barely heard the shouted order for them to restrain him over it.

* * *

He opened his eyes slowly, testing the shackles around his arms and legs. He could still feel the hum of the madness deep inside, his eyes twitching in their sockets. He could see snakes dancing in the shadows, the darkness hiding them whenever he tried to focus on them. He hissed like a snake as he pulled his arms against the metal caging them, his wavelength crackling from his palms and skirting up his arms.

It stopped just short of the metal, his soul straining to force it over it.

He could feel it then, the undeniable presence of someone else walking into his cell. He turned his head away from the largest of the snakes in the corner and looked at his captor.

Black hair fell to her chin, her suit pristine and unsoiled. There was a look in eyes hidden by glasses that he could almost place, but it was emotion that didn't exist in science and so he didn't care.

"Stein, do you know me?"

He was silent. Flashes of memories flooded through his mind, but he couldn't place the woman. Instead of "No," all that came from him was an eruption of laughter that seemed a much better answer to her question.

She left him strapped to the table, his wavelength trying in vain to surge over the metal that was holding him captive, his lanky body shaking with laughter.

* * *

"The witch's steel is working," Azusa said as she walked out of the room, the guards at the door saluting smartly. The death scythe didn't acknowledge it.

She fell into step beside Kid, suppressing the urge to shrink away from him as he nodded. "I am glad to hear that. The witches are proving themselves valuable allies, even with all the resentment that both sides are feeling."

"It's dangerous to force this too quickly, Kid-Sama."

"It's just Kid, Azusa," Kid said absently, already tired of correcting her. She just gave a small nod before continuing.

"If we force the acceptance of people that have been acknowledged as enemies for over a thousand years all it will do will cause a fracture. People are slow to release old anger, and this has had a millennia to simmer."

"I know this, Azusa. I am trying to make certain that nothing happens to challenge the fragile order that we have at the moment. How is Dr. Stein?"

"Lost."

Kid stopped walking and turned towards her. "I don't know what we can do for him."

"He was still linked with Marie's wavelength when they died-," At the look Kid gave her she sighed and changed her wording, "disappeared. It is possible that he will never regain a functioning level of sanity. Marie and Spirit were the only people he was truly close to, if anyone could claim to be close to him."

"Let us hope that he does then, I do not want to keep him bound with witch's steel for the rest of his life."

They left the unspoken words float in the air. If Stein didn't regain his sanity he was far too dangerous to be kept bound in witch's steel for long.

* * *

They fell for what felt like forever. Marie's hand was clenched in Spirit's; Spirit's other hand in Sid's and Sid's hand holding onto Akane's, who was holding Marie's. Nygus and Clay were in weapon form being held by their meisters, and Marie felt fear grip her.

What was happening to her and Spirit's meister?

A gust of wind hit them; it came not from below them but from the side and it ripped her hand from Akane's. She screamed as another gust caught her light frame and ripped her other from Spirit's grasp.

"Marie!"

A moment later she watched as Spirit wrenched his hand from Sid's and tucked his arms and legs together to come hurtling towards her. He caught her hand when he was close enough to and looked over his shoulder to grin at the others.

They were nowhere in sight. Spirit pulled her into his arms as another gust of wind slammed into them, forcing them further south. She buried her face in his chest and hiccupped sobs of relief and fear.

"Transform!" Spirit's voice echoed in his chest, making her look up at him. Worry painted itself across his features and she hazarded a look down. The ground was coming up to meet them swiftly. Even as he demanded again that she transform she was, and she gave a small sigh as she watched him do the same.

Just as they slammed into the ground she watched as his arm reappeared, wrapping around the hilt of her tonfa form and pulling her closer. Then everything went black.

* * *

"Hey Kid! How'd everything go? The doc ok?" Black*Star asked from the hospital bed. He wore no casts, even though their interim doctor had begged him to and tried to get Kid to order him to.

"Dr. Stein hasn't had any change in his condition. What have they said about yours?"

Black*Star huffed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "These quacks say I need weeks, _weeks_ of recuperation. Like it's going to take that long. I feel better already!" To prove his point Black*Star raised his damaged arm into the air, his hand a fist as he pumped it up and down. "I'll be out of here in a day or two tops."

Kid just laughed. "Sure you will be, Black*Star."

"Just you wait and see. Nothing will keep me down for long!"

* * *

Stein lay still. His head was pointed to the ceiling and he was doing his best to ignore the large snake that was crawling along the wall to the left. He would dissect it later. All he had to do was remain still enough that his captor's thought him a non-threat and released him.

The door to his cell creaked open and the black haired woman approached him again. She asked again if he knew her, and he forced himself to remain still.

She would come closer. He could fool her. He didn't even breathe, his eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling.

"Stein?"

She was nearly beside him now and his hand itched. His lab coat was pooled around him, but there was nothing in the pockets to relieve the itch with, and he knew that.

He had to wait. He had to wait. He had to wait.

Her face was in front of his, and he felt her hand on his shoulder. Her mouth was moving, but he could no longer understand the words that were coming from it. There was a cracking sound as he wrenched his arm against the restraints, and his hand wrapped around her wrist.

Behind her glasses her eyes widened in sudden fear.

Maniacal laughter escaped him as his wavelength finally found release. The woman flew from his grasp and he jerked against the bonds, trying to escape while he could, but he wasn't strong enough to break them before she was on her feet, her body smoking from the force of his wavelength.

He continued to laugh as she staggered out the door.

* * *

Azusa slid down the wall, breathing heavily. Every cell in her body was screaming in agony and her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid that she would have a heart attack. The guards were beside her and dragging her to her feet before she even made it to the ground, and a few moments later she was supported between two new guards and being carried to the infirmary.

She couldn't even find it in herself to demand that they set her down. As they moved, their pace rocking her between them like a baby in a cradle, she let the darkness claim her that she had been fighting against.

* * *

His arm was broken, his ribs bruised and possibly broken, but Spirit Albarn had never felt more alive. He had no idea where they were, or where the others could be, but he and Marie were both alive and she wasn't hurt, and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

Well, that and the growing need for food.

He laughed a little bit and Marie looked over at him and he shrugged with his good arm. "I'm hungry. Just thinking how funny it was that despite everything we've gone through my body still remembered that this was the time that I normally eat."

Marie gave him a little smile before nodding. "Well, we better hurry if we want to get back in time for dinner."

With a nod to match hers they started off, slightly unsteadily, in the direction of the setting sun. Hopefully they would find shelter before nightfall.

* * *

**A/N: Would ya look at that. Lia, writing a new fic. Miss me?**

**This is just some head-canon I had after reading the raws for 112. I'm really, really hoping that Sid/Nygus/Akane/Clay/Spirit/Marie aren't dead. Don't forget about Sid's **_**Compulsive Burial**_** ability with Nygus! **


	2. A Price Unpaid

Stein's eyes opened, dry in their sockets. His throat and lips were also dry and he ran a parched tongue across them before trying to form words.

"Ma-" his voice gave out and his hands clenched into fists as he stared up at the ceiling, his arms tensing against his bindings.

Someone was holding him. He didn't know who his captor was, but they were holding him against his will. The room was dimly lit, shadows crawling in the corners, and he could sense two people outside the room by what he assumed was the only exit.

"Ma… rie?" Stein tried again to call out, even though he knew he was alone in the room, his voice almost failing him. He didn't sense her wavelength near him- but it was there, calling to him like a siren, from very far away.

One of the guards outside the door cocked his head, turning to the other. "He's making noise."

The second guard turned to the door and pressed his ear to it. He listened for a moment before looking up at the other guard, surprise on his features.

"What?"

"Go alert them! He's calling for Marie!"

The first guard hesitated, and then darted off. The second twisted the door handle and glanced over his shoulder before opening it so he could better hear what the meister was saying.

The sliver of light fell upon the restrained meister and he looked up at the guard with a wild look in his eyes. His body strained against the bonds, and the guard took a step back as he met the man's eyes.

"Let me go!" Stein demanded. "I must find her!"

* * *

"What do you mean, Stein is talking?"

"My Lord, he was calling for Marie. I came here as quickly as possible, just as ordered if he showed any signs of coming around."

Azusa looked at Kid and both moved towards the door, Kid already speaking again as the guard trailed behind. "When did he start?"

"Just a minute before I came to get you. I heard a noise; we listened closer, and realized it wasn't the usual sounds of laughter or tears. He was calling a name; that was when I came."

"You've done well. You're dismissed. Go home, get some rest."

"My Lord?"

"Kid-sama, you can't-"

Kid stopped and turned to face them both. "Go home, get some rest. We will be fine. I have a death scythe with me."

Azusa bowed, her hair hiding her face, and the guard saluted. "Yes, sir."

"I would feel more comfortable if we had the extra guard-"

"You know as well as I that if Stein isn't himself they would only be in the way. I've called Patty and Liz, they're on their way. We will be fine."

"Wait, what? When did you have time to contact them?"

Kid gave a small smile as they came around a corner, almost to Stein's cell. "When you were arguing, Azusa."

She stopped for a moment, perplexed at how he had managed it, but stepped after him with just a slight hesitation.

* * *

"Doctor Stein, do you know who I am?" Kid asked, standing well away from the still-shackled man.

The scientist met his gaze. "You're Death the Kid. What I don't know is why you're holding me captive. You have to release me."

"You are bound in witch's steel. I cannot release you until the bonds are removed, and to do that, a witch must be present. Kim will be here shortly. What is the last thing you remember?"

The man on the table was silent for a long moment. "The kishin was defeated."

"Yes. In doing so, black blood covered the moon."

"They died." The words hung in the air for a long moment. "Their wavelengths disappeared entirely. But I can sense her now! You have to release me so I can find her!" Stein struggled against the witch's steel for a moment before slumping back against the table, and they were surprised to see tears in the corner of the man's eyes, even though they never fell.

"Why is it so important that you be the one to find her, Stein?" Azusa asked suddenly.

Stein was silent, staring at the ceiling, for a long a while before the Kid and Azusa turned to leave. In a broken voice, almost so silent that they didn't hear him, Stein spoke. _"Of all people, I cannot have her death on my soul."_

* * *

Spirit's good arm was draped over Marie's shoulder, the taller man leaning heavily on the diminutive death scythe.

"Come on, Spirit! We've got to keep on walking!" Marie urged the man, pulling him along behind her.

Spirit was breathing heavily, his teeth clenched as he tried, unsuccessfully again, to stand on his own, without Marie's aid; his knees nearly buckled as he did. The pain in his chest and side had grown with every step, and it was becoming more difficult to breathe. Marie coaxed him back to movement, pulling him along with her.

Three steps later he fell forward, taking Marie with him. He was unconscious when he hit the ground.

* * *

"Kiddo!"

Kid stopped midstride and nearly fell as Patty collided with him. Liz stood a few feet back, smiling.

"Liz, Patty, glad you could make it," Kid said, a smile on his face as Patty released him and bounced back to stand by her sister. "Professor Stein seems to be coming back to himself, and we're just waiting on Kim to get here to release him."

"That's great news, Kid!"

"Azusa and I just finished talking with him- I'd like the two of you to be with me when we release him, just as a precaution. I'll feel much better armed, in case this is an act."

"I would have been there with you-" Azusa started.

"My symmetry would have been off."

* * *

It was nearly an hour later when Kim finally arrived. She moved into the room, flanked by two guards- Kid, Liz and Patty stood on the other side of Stein, watching intently as Kim performed the ritual to remove the bonds.

As the metal clanked open and fell towards the ground, shimmering and disappearing before it hit, Stein was sitting up, rubbing his wrists. His eyes were wide, and Kid was struck by how odd he looked without his glasses.

He was moving before they realized it, nearly out the door before Azusa stepped in front of him. "You're in no condition to go out there, Stein. You haven't eaten in 72 hours and we could barely force fluids down you. You're weak."

The scientist paused in front of her, his eyes narrowed. "I've gone longer when caught up in an experiment. I will be fine."

"Azusa, let him go. Stein, you are tasked with finding Marie Mjolnir."

"And getting something to eat!" Patty called out from beside Kid.

"Yes, that would also be prudent," Kid said. "Something wholesome and symmetrical. A bagel or donut perhaps, provided care has been taken in its preparation…"

Stein was down the hall before Kid could finish his breakfast list.

* * *

Spirit opened his eyes to a dimly lit room. The fire in his side was much duller now, and he found that he could breathe easier. There was quiet breathing to his right and he tilted his head to the side to look.

Marie lay curled up in his suit jacket, directly beside him, a hair of space between them. Her lips were parted slightly as she breathed, obviously deep in sleep, though he could see the tear tracks that streaked down her cheeks even in the dim light.

Carefully, cautiously, he rolled onto his side and wrapped an arm around the woman. He gave no thought to where they were, sleep claiming him quickly.

* * *

**A/N: I'm having fun building this up. Hope you enjoy this.**

**I don't own Soul Eater. Duh.**


End file.
